LYNNE FLOWER IS DUE TO SPEAK ABOUT BARN OWLS AT OUR MEETING ON
WEDNESDAY 7 MARCH 8PM, RED CROSS HALL, OXTED.
Lynne and Peter Flower, Kent Wildlife Trust volunteers,
writes about the work they do to support and protect existing barn owls
and create safe places for them to increase in numbers.
"Soft dark eyes, in a pale heart-shaped face, Silken white feathers
with buff speckling….. It is difficult not to be awed by the sight of a barn owl."
As their name implies, barn owls
are happiest in a traditional farmland habitat, providing hedges and
rough grass, and where beams in open barns provide good nesting
platforms, near hayricks and straw stacks which house mice and voles –
their main food source.
Although welcomed by most farmers, game-keepers in Victorian times killed
many as they wrongly thought barn owls preyed on game chicks. In more modern times barn owls
have suffered a big decline in their numbers, up against many threats,
such as reduction in hedgerows and other good hunting habitat; the use
of rodenticides; loss of old barns for nesting; and in particular
increase in road traffic when many are killed foraging along verges.
In 2013 the Sevenoaks Living Landscapes (SOLL) chose ‘barn owls’ as a special project. The Wildlife Trusts’
Living Landscapes projects are a major tool to create ‘stepping stones’
for wildlife across a landscape area by working with landowners to
manage and maintain good habitats for a wide range of wildlife. Good
habitat management for barn owls
also adds up to great habitat provision for a host of other creatures –
and who can resist working towards improving conditions for barn owls!
So, in the SOLL area we began a plan to make barn owl nest boxes and put them up where habitat was suitable and where barn owls may have been seen – then talking to neighbouring landowners helping them to tempt barn owls
into their area with good habitat management. Since then we have put up
28 boxes, had several successful nesting, and many sightings. We have
learned so much and had such a rewarding time – and over the next year
will share our experiences and pictures with you.
On Wednesday 4 April David Sheppard took us through his collection of cacti and succulents. He also demonstrated how straightforward certain aspects of propagation can be, encouraging us "to have a go". 
Garden photographer, percussionist, NGS garden opener,
Gardeners' World Small Garden of the Year 2017 Finalist and lover of all
leaves great and small
